BMW R&D Chief: Toyota-BMW car to be decided in a few months

BMW board member and R&D CHief Herbert Diess tells Ward’s Auto that the joint project between BMW and Toyota will get the final approval in …

BMW board member and R&D CHief Herbert Diess tells Ward’s Auto that the joint project between BMW and Toyota will get the final approval in the next few months.

“We are working on that. We are making progress,” Diess says of the joint project with Toyota. “It’s a complex task. We need to decide which cars would they be and when they would launch. We think it makes sense for both companies, but it is a car architecture that has to suit both companies. I think we will have a final decision in a few months.”

Back in December, Diess also confirmed that the joint venture is in motion. “We have agreed on a joint architecture for a sports car. What is important is that there will be two different vehicles that are authentic to the two brands,” BMW Development Chief Herbert Diess told Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

The rumormill churns out that naturally aspirated, supercharged, and turbocharged versions are reportedly being considered paired with electric motors. A source told MotorTrend in the past that Toyota has been working on an all-wheel-drive GT86 equipped with front in-wheel motors and that this setup could make it into the new BMW-Toyota sports car.

Could the Toyota FT-1 be an indication on what to expect from the two companies?